Whether you’re looking to update an existing company/organization logo or if you’re launching a new business, subsidiary business or product line, here are a few things to consider before designing or commissioning a logo design.
Keep Your Logo Design Simple
The more elaborate and complex a logo becomes, the more limited it will be in its usage and effectiveness. Legibility of the business/organization or product name is paramount and, while the use of an elaborate or complex font/typeface will provide a unique look, it may make a name difficult to read when shrunk to a small size. Any imagery or iconography used in the logo needs to be relatively simple as well. Computers have made it possible to generate elaborate, full-color images relatively easily. And, in larger sizes, such imagery can be impressive. However, logos will invariably be used in a broad range of contexts from large to tiny. A complex icon that looks impressive when sized at 8” x 8”is likely to become an incomprehensible mess when sized at 1” x 1”. A general rule of thumb: it’s easier to make simple designs more complex than it is to make complex designs more simple.
Start With Black & White Logo Designs
In keeping with the principle above, begin the logo design process generating potential designs in black and white. Because there will be many instances when a logo will be printed with only black ink, it’s important to make sure the logo retains its legibility when only one color is available. Color (or colors) can always be added after the black and white design is finalized.
Avoid Full-Color Designs
While it doesn’t cost anything to publish full-color images to the internet, a logo designed in full-color will incur, in many instances, additional costs when printed as it would require 4-color process (CMYK) inks to create the full-color illusion. It’s generally better to design a color logo with one or two spot ink colors. For variation in the design, those spot colors can be tinted for different elements.
There are several distinct advantages to using spot colors in a logo design:
- Brand Uniqueness – spot ink colors offer a wider range of hue, saturation and value compared to colors produced by CMYK;
- Spot colors can be converted to CMYK equivalents when necessary;
- Spot colors can be printed in addition to CMYK colors on multi-color presses in instances when it’s crucial to maintain the purity of the spot color;
- Spot colors will display their RGB equivalents on the internet.
Design Needs to Reflect the Nature of the Business/Organization
This seems like an obvious and unnecessary point to make, but many logos fail to convey any idea or sense of what a business/organization does or what industry/service sector it serves. Yes, in instances where a company logo represents a conglomerate of subsidiary businesses engaged in a broad variety of services/industries, it’s not going to be possible to capture or convey that reality in a single image or logotype. However, for many other businesses and organizations, the selection of an appropriate typeface and related imagery is critical. Is your business hi-tech? Are you in the health care industry? Are you a non-profit advocacy group? Are you in the food industry? A great logo can tell someone at a glance not only the type of business or services you provide, but can even convey a sense of quality and competency.
If you have any questions about Logo Design, give us a call at 330-597-8560. We’re happy to help you get the most out of your design project.
